Why Do Teachers Quit?

Richard Ingersoll taught high-school social studies and algebra in
both public and private schools for nearly six years before leaving the
profession and getting a Ph.D. in sociology. Now a professor in the
University of Pennsylvania’s education school, he’s spent his career in
higher ed searching for answers to one of teaching’s most significant
problems: teacher turnover.

Teaching, Ingersoll says, “was originally built as this temporary
line of work for women before they got their real job—which was raing
families, or sitemporary for men until they moved out of the classroom and
became administrators. That was sort of the historical set-up.”

Ingersoll extrapolated and then later confirmed that anywhere between 40 and 50 percent of teachers will leave the classroom within their first five years (that includes the nine and a half percent that leave before
the end of their first year.) Certainly, all professions have turnover,
and some shuffling out the door is good for bringing in young blood and
fresh faces. But, turnover in teaching is about four percent higher than other professions.

Approximately 15.7 percent of teachers
leave their posts every year, and 40 percent of teachers who pursue
undergraduate degrees in teaching never even enter the classroom at all.
With teacher effectiveness a top priority of the education reform
movement, the question remains: Why are all these teachers leaving—or
not even entering the classroom in the first place?

“One of the big reasons I quit was sort of intangible,” Ingersoll
says. “But it’s very real: It’s just a lack of respect,” he says.
“Teachers in schools do not call the shots. They have very little say.
They’re told what to do; it’s a very disempowered line of work.”

Other teachers—especially the younger ones—are also leaving the
classroom for seemingly nebulous reasons. I spoke with nearly a dozen
public and private school teachers and former teachers around the
country. (I used pseudonyms for the teachers throughout this piece so
that they could speak freely.) Many of them cited “personal reasons,”
ranging from individual stress levels to work-life balance struggles.

“We are held up to a really high standard for everything,” says Emma,
a 26-year-old former teacher at a public school in Kansas who now works
for a music education non-profit. “It stems from this sense that
teachers aren’t real people, and the only thing that came close to
[making me stay] was the kids.”

In my interviews with teachers, the same issues continued to surface.
In theory, the classroom hours aren’t bad and the summers are free.
But, many young teachers soon realize they must do overwhelming amounts
of after-hours work. They pour out emotional energy into their work,
which breeds quick exhaustion. And they experience the frustrating
uphill battle that comes along with teaching—particularly in
low-performing schools.

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“What people are asked to do is only the kind of thing that
somebody can do for two or three years; you couldn’t sustain that level
of intensity throughout a career,” said Thomas Smith, a professor at
Vanderbilt University’s education school. He was referring specifically
to charter schools, but his sentiment is one that resonates with many
beginning teachers in challenging schools. “[It’s] the same way that
people might think of investment banking. It’s something that people do
for a few years out of college, but if you want to have a family, or you
want to have some leisure time, you know, how do you sustain that?”

Joseph is a former Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher who loved
his first years in the classroom; after a couple of years, though, he
came to a saddening realization about the future of his career.

“I realized that most older men I taught with eventually felt
pressured to advance into higher-level administration as their careers
progressed in order to better support their family,” he said. “What many
of them working in high-need schools told me, however, was that being
successful at school directly conflicted with being successful husbands
and fathers. While this is certainly true of any occupation, most
occupations don't leave your children asking you, ‘Why do you go to more
basketball games of the kids at school than mine?’"

Pay is also an issue that came up in my interviews. A starting teacher salary in the U.S. is $35,672.

“What is expected of great teachers and the amount they are paid is
shameful,” says Hayley, a former teacher from the Northwest, referring
to just one factor in her decision to leave the classroom to work for an
ed-tech startup. “Yes, if you love something you should do it
regardless of pay, but when you take into consideration the time, the
effort, the emotional toll and what teachers are asked to actually do everyday,
it was painfully obvious that teaching is not a sustainable job. I
really wish it had been.” Hayley taught for three years before finding
herself emotionally drained, physically exhausted, and interested in
pursuing a career that provided more balance and financial security.

Higher pay doesn’t necessarily lead to a better retention rate,
though. “[Some] studies suggest that teachers are more interested in
working at schools where the conditions of work are good rather than in
getting paid more,” Smith, the Vanderbilt professor, said. He pointed to
a study by the Benwood Foundation
that offered teachers in Chattanooga large bonuses to go teach in
lower-performing schools. The study found that few teachers were willing
to move for this kind of offer. (In fact, according to Smith, the
initiative had to be reengineered to offer bonuses to teachers already
in those schools.)

With the exception of retirement, studies suggest
that there are only a handful of overarching factors that push teachers
out the door—family or personal reasons, other career opportunities,
salary, administrative support and overall job dissatisfaction. These
are largely the same issues that arose in my interviews. Some were
wholly unhappy or drained and left in pursuit of another career
completely, some wanted more money; some wanted both.

Another study done by the National Charter School Research Project
suggests lack of job security is a factor in teachers’ decision to
leave public charters; however, this was not a concern of any charter
teacher I spoke with. Most teachers sounded simply frustrated,
overworked and underpaid—sentiments that are certainly echoed in the
research.

The teacher-turnover problem has a flipside, of course: If 40 to 50
percent of teachers leave the classroom within the first five years
their career, that means that 50 to 60 percent of teachers stay. Who
are they? Where are they teaching? What is keeping them?

Becky is a retired teacher who taught for nearly 30 years in just
about every capacity imaginable. After starting in Chattanooga in a
public school, she moved all over the country, teaching in Houston in a
low-income school and then Chicago in a wealthy suburb before teaching
at a private school in Ohio.

She loved teaching, but even in her years before retirement, she still felt the weight of the work on her constantly.

“When you’re in your early 60s and you’re still coming home with 65
hours of grading over two weeks…that’s very overwhelming. [But] I love
working with teenagers. I love the relationships and I love being able
to help them.”

This overwhelming desire to help students is a common thread among
all the teachers I speak with. They all cared for their students deeply,
but even this couldn’t keep teachers like Hayley or Emma in the
classroom. Simply put: everything else—the workload, the emotional toll,
the low pay—was just too much.

A range of factors influences teacher retention, according to
Ingersoll’s research, but he tells me that the way administration deals
with both students and teachers has a “huge effect” on teacher
satisfaction. He cites this as being one of the potential ways to keep
teachers without spending billions of dollars increasing salaries.

“Those schools that do a far better job of managing and coping with
and responding to student behavioral issues have far better teacher
retention,” he says. And, in both public and private schools, “buildings
in which teachers have more say—their voice counts—have distinctly
better teacher retention.”

Ingersoll has also done extensive research
on beginning teacher support and found that teachers who have even just
two small initiatives in place (working with a mentor and having
regular supportive communication with an administrator) are more likely
to stay in the classroom.

Based on other education statistics, parental involvement, student
achievement and the career entry point for teachers can also impact
retention. Parental engagement and high student achievement are key factors.
Where these numbers grow, teachers are more satisfied and presumably
more likely to stay in the profession. And teachers who sought teaching
as their first career are more likely to stay in the classroom in
comparison with teachers who entered the profession mid-career.

Regardless of why teachers stay or leave, the revolving door of
teacher turnover is a problem that affects students and entire schools.
Ingersoll maintains that it doesn’t have to be a problem that continues
to spiral out of control; the revolving door can be stopped. And while
there are a number of ways to fix it—from increasing salaries to
mentoring young teachers—the mindset behind the solution is simple.

“Respected, well-paid lines of work do not have shortages,” Ingersoll
says. He adds that he is happy with his new career, but he would still
be a high school history teacher had it not been for the lack of respect
and low salary he experienced. For a lot of teachers I spoke with, this
seems to be the common sentiment: If the overall attractiveness of
teaching as a profession gets better, the best teachers will enter the
profession, stay, and help increase the effectiveness of schools.

“To improve the quality of teaching,” Ingersoll says, you need to
“improve the quality of the teaching job.” And, “If you really improve
that job… you would attract good people and you would keep them.”

Higher pay doesn’t necessarily lead to a better retention rate,
though. “[Some] studies suggest that teachers are more interested in
working at schools where the conditions of work are good rather than in
getting paid more,” Smith, the Vanderbilt professor, said. He pointed to
a study by the Benwood Foundation
that offered teachers in Chattanooga large bonuses to go teach in
lower-performing schools. The study found that few teachers were willing
to move for this kind of offer. (In fact, according to Smith, the
initiative had to be reengineered to offer bonuses to teachers already
in those schools.)

I wonder what type of support they offered these teachers if any? Lawd, I don't want to go read the study to get the details but it looks like I will lol.

Ain't enough pay in the world to deal with kids who are being sent to school unfed, unwashed, exhausted, with no manners and 0 f*cks to give about being successful in life, let alone yesterday's math homework.

If parents worked with the teachers more when it came to their children instead of using school as a 6hr daycare I think that the job would be a little less stressful. They do need to make more. I know security officers and trash men who make more than teachers.

-lack of admin support-lack of parent and community support. ppl bitch about education all the time, but what are they doing to help? volunteer at a school! donate time/materials/money!

-long azz hours...its like the work never ends. there is always something. my team is usually there @7 and don't leave until 5, and there every day on the wknds. yes, you get summers off, but they aren't paid summers and during that time, you have to do continuing education to keep your license. and that is also paid out of pocket...it's rare to have it paid for.

-i work for a charter school now, so supplies are a big issue. its like, u need certain things, so u buy out of pocket. yes, you could not do it, but then your kids don't have the tools that they need (even basic ones like paper/pencil) and neither do you and that puts you on the hook.

-i don't make enough to pay bills, purchase stuff for school and save $. it was frustrating before i had a kid and even harder now. and we all know sallie mae don't wait.

-lack of admin support-lack of parent and community support. ppl bitch about education all the time, but what are they doing to help? volunteer at a school! donate time/materials/money!

-long azz hours...its like the work never ends. there is always something. my team is usually there @7 and don't leave until 5, and there every day on the wknds. yes, you get summers off, but they aren't paid summers and during that time, you have to do continuing education to keep your license. and that is also paid out of pocket...it's rare to have it paid for.

-i work for a charter school now, so supplies are a big issue. its like, u need certain things, so u buy out of pocket. yes, you could not do it, but then your kids don't have the tools that they need (even basic ones like paper/pencil) and neither do you and that puts you on the hook.

-i don't make enough to pay bills, purchase stuff for school and save $. it was frustrating before i had a kid and even harder now. and we all know sallie mae don't wait.

Higher pay doesn’t necessarily lead to a better retention rate,
though. “[Some] studies suggest that teachers are more interested in
working at schools where the conditions of work are good rather than in
getting paid more,” Smith, the Vanderbilt professor, said. He pointed to
a study by the Benwood Foundation
that offered teachers in Chattanooga large bonuses to go teach in
lower-performing schools. The study found that few teachers were willing
to move for this kind of offer. (In fact, according to Smith, the
initiative had to be reengineered to offer bonuses to teachers already
in those schools.)

I wonder what type of support they offered these teachers if any? Lawd, I don't want to go read the study to get the details but it looks like I will lol.

in my case and others that i know, none. my first year, i was given the teacher editions of the books and 48hrs to prepare. having a mentor helps, a lot. i have one now and it really makes a difference.

the neediest schools are the worst in terms of teaching. not really the kids, tbh, but the environment you are in can really get to you. none of the teachers that i know who quit said anything about the kids, but maybe it was b/c it was lower el. idk. i personally would rather teach in inner city schools than a suburban one. but that is just a preference

piss poor attitudes from the other teachers and admin, large amounts of $ spent out of pocket and bad conditions. last yr, the heat went out for a week and we wore coats inside. we were not allowed to bring in space heaters b/c it was a gas issue. strangely enough, none of the parents said anything to the board, even though everyday me and other teachers told our students to tell their parents.

yeah, the behaviors of the kids can be bad, but those kids usually stick with you and you really love them. and our kids, who usually attend these schools, need that love and belonging. unfortunately, it is hard for these kids to make lasting connections when the turnover rate is still high.

awwww teachers should get together and make a video or a facbook page twitter or something giving ppl (not just parents) things they can do to change. I'm not a parent and have no clue where to start or volunteer but I want to so when I have kids its easier

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